Spiritually bound

You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men. _{1 Corinthians 7:23}

This verse is clear and concise, reiterating a truth and issuing a command. Our salvation may have brought us freedom and we may have freely received the wonderful gift of eternal life, but it was the most expensive free gift ever given. We know this in our heart and we understand it in our mind, but sometimes our own-will takes priority. We gloss over the fact that we are not our own but in fact belong to the Father; we are spiritually bound to Him, to his will and to his purposes.

Speaking of the children of Israel, the Lord said: “For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves” (Lev25). God did not redeem us out of the world for us to still be enslaved to it, and if we continually dip our toe in worldly ways then we make a mockery of his purchase.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law. Romans 8:34

When we truly appreciate the cost, paid by the Son, so that righteousness might be fulfilled in us (Rom8), we abandon the ways of the world and submit fully to the commands of the Father. This is our aim, which is only made possible by the power of the Spirit.

We don’t walk back into slavery once we have been freed. Instead, we turn our full attention to the one who made that freedom possible.